


As the Sand Shifts Beneath Our Feet

by sakuuya



Category: Battle for London in the Air (Roleplay)
Genre: Beck and Dr. J NOT being the worst for once, Gen, No murder at all, Pre-Canon, Uneasy Allies, wholesome January
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:02:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28772025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakuuya/pseuds/sakuuya
Summary: Two awful people find common ground in trying to do the right thing for once.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	As the Sand Shifts Beneath Our Feet

The laboratory was quiet this late in the evening. Most of the men of the Science Division had already left, which suited Dr. Jhandir just fine. The occasional crackle or whirr from some bit of machinery was a much more welcome sound than the prattle of his so-called colleagues. At least he wouldn’t have to put up with them for much longer.

Dr. Jhandir dripped a blob of blood-colored wax onto the last envelope and pressed his seal into it. When he lifted it a moment later, it left a perfect imprint of a ج. The letters were addressed to his various family members back in the Raj, but he had no intention of sending them. His sister and brothers wouldn’t have much use for a carbon copy of his latest experimental reports, but he suspected the city’s rebels would, and his “letters home” were unlikely to be searched.

“Anil? Can you come in here for a moment?” Beck called from the adjoining office.

Dr. Jhandir cursed under his breath. His nerves were shot; he was in no mood to deal with his imbecile of a boss. What the hell was Beck still doing here, anyway? The doctor stuffed the envelopes into the inside pocket of his jacket and took a calming breath before he strode over to the office.

“Yes? My notes on this afternoon’s tests are already on your desk, and I sent a copy along to Burns as well. It’s hardly necessary for me to recite the results. If you wanted an in-person account, you should have observed the experiment yourself.”

Beck’s expression turned stormy. They’d had this fight numerous times, the one about the amount of work Lord Beck pushed off onto Dr. Jhandir, and getting the nobleman to rail about how a man like Dr. Jhandir should be grateful to have gotten a government job at all was usually a good distraction tactic.

He didn’t take the bait this time, though: “That’s not what I wanted to speak to you about. Close the door.”

Dr. Jhandir had in fact been standing _in_ the doorway, the better to leave the instant etiquette allowed, but he stepped warily into the office and shut the door behind him.

“Yes?” he said again, trying not to betray how anxious he felt. What on earth was Beck playing at?

“What do you know about the so-called rebellion fomenting in the lower platforms?”

Dr. Jhandir scoffed theatrically, because Beck was a man who confused the size of a gesture with its sincerity. “Rabble-rousers, that’s all. Nothing to be taken seriously.”

In fact, he knew quite a lot more than that. The Board’s position was the same as the one he’d expressed—that there were isolated pockets of unrest, but no serious, organized resistance. But Dr. Jhandir had been scouring whatever documents he could get his hands on for months, and he’d made some startling connections. It would be hard for anyone else to see the same patterns, however, in part because Dr. Jhandir was much smarter than the mediocre Englishmen occupying Gilded Hall and in part because he’d destroyed, altered, or stolen as many documents as he could without raising suspicions.

Beck looked suspicious now, though, and Dr. Jhandir fought not to let his hand go to his breast, where his envelopes were.

“Don’t lie to me, Anil!” Beck thundered, getting to his feet. The buzzing electric sconce on the wall behind him made a halo of his unkempt hair as he loomed over Dr. Jhandir. He’d probably planned it that way. “Do you think me a fool?”

Dr. Jhandir pointedly didn’t answer the question, which he thought was answer enough. Beck rounded the desk.

“You underestimate me at your folly! I’ve seen you scurrying around with classified files, taking documents home that a man of your station has no need of. How long have you been in contact with the rebellion?”

“I’m not.” That, at least, was the truth. He wanted to wait until he had everything prepared on Ω before he faked his death and went to them. No half-measures.

Beck looked wounded at that, for some reason. “You must know how I feel about the work we’re forced to do. I would hope you knew you could trust me.”

“ _That’s_ why you make me do all your work?” Dr. Jhandir was aghast. “Your constitution is too delicate for scientific progress?”

“Surely you understand my feelings! Why else would you be corresponding with the rebels, unless you too realized the horror of this place?” Dr. Jhandir made a noise of dissent, but Beck shook his head. “I don’t have _time_ for your protestations of innocence, Anil! Aren’t you worried that someone less sympathetic might realize what you’ve been up to? Most everyone here is a small-minded fool, but even the dullest of minds can be dangerous when aroused.”

“What do I need to do for you to keep quiet?” Dr. Jhandir asked. He managed not to add _since_ _I already do all your work_. It hardly mattered—if Beck was looking to blackmail him, the nobleman wouldn’t be long for this world.

“You still don’t trust me!” Beck moaned. “You have my silence, irregardless. You’re doing the right thing, alerting the rebels to the monstrous things happening in this laboratory. I… admire you for having the strength to go to them.”

Dr. Jhandir was not often struck dumb, but it was rare for _anyone_ in the Science Division to pay him a compliment, let alone Beck—who looked ashamed to have done it, like even now, he would have preferred not to acknowledge Dr. Jhandir as his better.

“I’m not your enemy, Anil,” Beck affirmed over the silence of Dr. Jhandir’s shock.

“Then why did you call me in here? Do you have information you want to give the rebels?”

“Actually, I do.” Beck looked back and forth around the office before pulling a fat manilla envelope from a drawer and slapping it down onto the desk. “But that’s not why. I fear Sir Clinton knows that something’s amiss.”

Dr. Jhandir could feel the blood drain from his face, but he tried to sound resolute: “Why do you say that?”

“He’s been nosing around, asking me for the whereabouts of certain files. I think you can imagine which ones. And he’s become more and more insistent lately. This afternoon, he asked about you specifically.”

“I’m not in contact with the rebels,” Dr. Jhandir croaked, his mouth dry. As Beck’s souring expression, he added, “I am gathering information for them, yes, and I think I know who some of them are, but I haven’t yet approached them. I wanted to ensure that they’d accept me, instead of taking me for some sort of mole.”

Beck’s eyes widened in… fear? For him? If someone had suggested to Dr. Jhandir a day ago that Beck would be afraid for his safety, he would have called them a liar and a fool. Beck tapped the envelope on his desk insistently with one long finger. “Take this and go! You may not have much time before Sir Clinton puts the pieces together, and you know what happens to traitors and dissidents here!”

He certainly did, so he snatched up the envelope as quickly as he could, fumbling it in his haste. Beck was still staring at him wide-eyed when he stood back up after retrieving it. Distantly, he recognized the nobleman’s behavior as annoying—overdramatic—but now wasn’t the time.

“Don’t worry when you hear I’ve died: My plan was always to ‘kill myself.’ I’ll just have to do it sooner than I anticipated. When I make it to the rebels, I’ll tell them what you did for me, so you’ll have somewhere to go should you end up in similar straits.”

Beck smiled tightly. “I hope I will, someday. This is a courageous thing you’re doing. Perhaps, if it’s not too dangerous, you can get back in touch from beyond the grave? I can be your snoop for the time being.”

“If it’s not too dangerous,” Dr. Jhandir agreed. He held out his free hand, which Beck shook. “Thank you sir.”

“Godspeed and good luck, doctor.”


End file.
